Today is the Sunday during the
Days of Unleavened Bread (DUB), the day on which the Wave Sheaf was offered
in ancient Israel. Today is also Easter Sunday. This is not
a coincidence. There is something very important both days have in
common. Both days celebrate an empty tomb!

If you spent years in a church
that taught the holy days, as we did, you might be able to recite from
memory the instructions for this day found in Leviticus 23. It’s
right between the instructions for the Days of Unleavened Bread (DUB) and
the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. It goes something like this (or
does it?): "On the morrow after the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened
Bread is the Wave Sheaf Offering." That’s the way many people learned
it.

This ceremony was established
in the list of holy days in Leviticus 23. The day of the Wave Sheaf
offering is the day we begin our count toward the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost
(Greek for "count fifty"). This day and its activities also coincide
with what many believe to be the timing of Messiah's resurrection – Saturday
evening – and the time of His first ascension to the Father,
as the personification and fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering, on that
Sunday morning so long ago.

Let me explain that point briefly.
Yeshua was dead and buried for three days and three nights. The following
two scriptures indicate that this would be the sign of His being the Messiah.

Matthew 12:38-40 (NIV throughout,
unless otherwise noted):38 Then some of the Pharisees
and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous
sign from you."39 He answered, "A wicked and
adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given
it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.40 For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

John 2:18-22:18 Then the Jews demanded of
him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do
all this?"19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy
this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."20 The Jews replied, "It has
taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise
it in three days?"21 But the temple he
had spoken of was his body.22 After he was raised from
the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the
Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

This was the one true sign He
gave to the antagonistic Jewish leaders that He was the Messiah.
When He died, He was laid to rest just before sundown, or about sundown.
He came to life again three days later, just before sundown. The
women who came to the tomb found that He was already resurrected and gone
when they arrived Sunday morning. Sunday morning was not the time
Messiah was resurrected. The angel said He had gone ahead to Galilee,
as He said He would do:

Matthew 26:30-32:30 When they [Yeshua and His
disciples] had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.31 Then Jesus told them, "This
very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'32 But after I have risen,
I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

Mark 16:4-7:4 But when they [the women
at the tomb] looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large,
had been rolled away.5 As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side,
and they were alarmed.6 "Don't be alarmed," he said.
"You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!
He is not here. See the place where they laid him.7 But go, tell his disciples
and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,
just as he told you.'"

He was not there because He
had already been resurrected! He awoke Saturday evening, about sundown.
Counting backward three days, we can see that He had died on Wednesday
afternoon, and was buried Wednesday evening, just before sundown, or about
sundown.

Many churches teach that the
crucifixion took place in the year 33 A.D., because Passover fell on a
Friday that year. If the three-days-and-three-nights scenario is
correct, the year of the crucifixion would have been 31 A.D., a year when
Passover fell on Wednesday. This would bring about the following
scenario:

- Messiah was crucified on Passover,
dying late that afternoon;- He was put into the tomb
Wednesday evening about sunset, wrapped and spiced by Joseph of Arimathea
and Nicodemus (John 19:40);- Everyone rested on the next
day, Thursday, which was the First Day of Unleavened Bread, an annual high
holy day (John 19:31),- On Friday the women went
to buy additional spices to anoint His body, then rested on the weekly
Sabbath day (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:55-24:1);- When the women arrived at
the tomb on Sunday morning, He was already gone (Luke 24:1-3).

There is also a prophecy in
Daniel which validates the idea of a Wednesday crucifixion. Daniel
received from God this astonishing prediction:

Daniel 9:24-27 (NKJV):24 "Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To
make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting
righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.25 "Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in
troublesome times.26 "And after the sixty-two
weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And
the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the
war desolations are determined.27 Then he shall confirm a
covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He
shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation,
which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."

The details of Daniel’s prophecy
may be somewhat vague, but these verses seem to indicate that Messiah would
be cut off in the midst of both a prophetic “week” and, quite possibly,
a literal week!

As the cutting of the grain
for the Wave Sheaf offering took place on Saturday evening during the DUB,
so Messiah was resurrected at the same time, on the same day. That
should give us a clue as to what this day is all about.

As the wave sheaf was raised
and then lowered Sunday morning, so Messiah ascended to heaven that Sunday
morning as the Wave Sheaf Offering for us, yet He returned to earth that
same day (John 20:16-19; Matthew 28:9-10).

The Bible instructionsLet's look at the command YHVH
gave to Moses, in Leviticus 23:9-14:9 The LORD said to Moses,10 "Speak to the Israelites
and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you
reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.11 He is to wave the sheaf
before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to
wave it on the day after the Sabbath.12 On the day you wave the
sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year
old without defect,13 together with its grain
offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil – an offering
made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma – and its drink offering of
a quarter of a hin of wine.14 You must not eat any bread,
or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to
your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
wherever you live.

Beginning with the year Israel
entered the Promised Land, and right on through all time, they were to
observe this ordinance. When it came time to harvest the spring crop,
the first sheaf of the firstfruits had to be offered to God first, before
the rest of the harvest could be gathered in.The sheaf represents Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23:20 But Christ has indeed been
raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.21 For since death came through
a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.22 For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ all will be made alive.23 But each in his own turn:
Christ,
the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

Colossians 1:18-20:18 And he is the head of the
body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among
the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.19 For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him,20 and through him to reconcile
to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by
making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

(See also Acts 26:23; Romans
8:29; Hebrews 1:6).

Part of the process of making
peace through Messiah’s blood is demonstrated year after year in the Wave
Sheaf offering.

The Mishnah, written
a few centuries after the time of the first century church, describes how
a messenger would go out and bind the standing stalks of grain into sheaves
so that it would be easy to cut. The priest, followed by his entourage,
would come to the field, sickle in hand, and ask, "Is the sun set?", to
which the people would answer, "Yes!!" "Shall I reap?" "Reap!!" The priest
then cut off a standing stalk of grain, then took it to be prepared for
the offering the next morning.

In an article in the June 1975
Good
News entitled "The Wavesheaf Ritual – Proof of Christ and the Bible,"
Lawson C. Briggs wrote, "In the time of Jesus the wavesheaf was offered
on the Sunday during Passover week. This is clear since the priests – who
were mostly Sadducees – were in charge of the Temple and all the Temple
ceremony (Acts 4:1-6; 5:17). The timing and symbolism of this ceremony
would have been overwhelming to those who knew the events of Jesus' death
and resurrection.

"The wave sheaf had been chosen
in advance, as Christ was. It was tied in a bundle, symbolizing His captivity.
It was cut loose from the ground just at sunset – just the time at which
Christ rose from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb.
The
cutting of the grain symbolized Christ's actual resurrection" (emphasis
mine).

Here’s a quote from another
source, a Bible study tape by Herman Hoeh: "We might as well face
it – that the resurrection occurred minutes following the close of the
Sabbath – Saturday night, when the wave sheaf was cut. What we have
is not the old saying that I used to have to use, that the wave sheaf represents
the resurrected Christ – but it represents the resurrection!

"This is the prophesied resurrection
that we have never seen in the ceremonies of the law, and was properly
done in Jewish tradition (page 506-7 of the Mishnah). It was a rule
that it should be reaped by night, at the very beginning minutes, so there
would be no delay in preparing it, and then the next morning it was to
be waved.

"The resurrection occurred when
the wave sheaf was cut, [and the] ascension occurred when it was waved
before the altar...” (Herman Hoeh, Pasadena Bible Study, June 9,
1978).

Messiah rose from the dead three
days and three nights from the time He went into "the heart of the earth."
It was the only sign that He was to give. The length of time in the
grave was the proof of His being the Messiah! (Matthew 12:39-40)
If Messiah was to come back to life on a Saturday evening, three days and
three nights after His dead body was laid to rest, that means that, when
He died in the afternoon of Passover Day, that day was a Wednesday!

Messiah went into the tomb "when
even was come" (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:42). Therefore, He came out
of the tomb "when even was come" – three days and three nights later.
It’s interesting to see that Leviticus 23, which outlines the holy days,
the days which show us the plan of God, gives us this picture: right
at the moment the priest cut the sheaf from the ground, that was the moment
Yeshua Messiah rose from the dead, which gave Him a new identity – the
first fully born Son of God, born from the dead.

Romans 1:1-6:1 Paul, a servant of Christ
Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God –2 the gospel he promised beforehand
through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures3 regarding his Son, who as
to his human nature was a descendant of David,4 and who through the Spirit
of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection
from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.5 Through him and for his name's
sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the
Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.6 And you also are among those
who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

On a Saturday evening in Jerusalem
long ago, a Levitical priest shouted “Shall I reap?”, and a joyful crowd
shouted back, “Reap!” Meanwhile, across town, in a borrowed tomb,
our Savior came back to life, and from that moment to this He has been
the resurrected, fully born Son of God.

That’s what this day of the
Wave Sheaf Offering pictures. That’s the general overview.

But there have been a few areas
in our understanding that may need updating. I noticed a few things
in reference to this ceremony that I haven’t read or heard discussed elsewhere,
and I’d like to share these ideas with you, for your consideration.

What is it called?The Bible does not actually
refer to this ceremony as "the Wave Sheaf offering." There are three
references in Leviticus 23 (verses 11, 12 and 15) to bringing the sheaf
and waving it, so it's a simple enough matter to see how the name came
about. But it's not a biblical name. This really isn't an important
point when compared with the others, but I thought I should at least mention
it. It seems appropriate to call it "the wave offering." I’ve
referred to it as the "omer elevating ceremony," which I’ll explain in
a minute. But, as is the case with the Last Great Day, the familiar
but inaccurate name serves to identify the occasion suitably, so there
is no real need to change it.

What did they wave?We tend to picture in our minds
the priest actually waving sheaves of grain at the altar, picking up a
bundle of the long stalks and waving them back and forth. This is
probably not correct.

Notice in Leviticus 23:10: "Speak
to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going
to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the
first grain you harvest.'"

"Sheaf" can be seen as a mistranslation
from the Hebrew word omer (Strong's #6016). An omer is a unit of
dry measure, rather than a stalk of grain. So when it says to wave
a sheaf, it's really saying to wave, or elevate, an omer.

How much is an omer? Here
is a dictionary definition: "Omer (Heb. 'omer, cf. Arab. 'umar, 'a small
bowl') occurs only in the account of the collection of manna (Ex. 16),
being used both of the measure itself (vv. 18, 32-33) and of the amount
measured (vv. 16, 22). The 'omer was equal to 1/10 ephah (v. 36). ... Ephah
... is the name of a vessel large enough to hold a person (Zc. 5:6-10),
and thence of an exact measure (Lv. 19:36). ... The ephah was equal to
the liquid measure bath, both being 1/10 of a homer (Ezk. 45:11)" (New
Bible Dictionary, article "Weights and Measures"). The same article
defines an omer as being equivalent to 2.4 liters (wet or dry measurement)
in our modern measuring system. So think of a two-liter bottle of
Pepsi, and that’s about the amount of grain that would be elevated.
Obviously, we're not talking about stalks of grain here!

By the way, there are two similar
words in this dictionary definition, which may cause some confusion: Remember
that one homer is made up of 100 omers. Ten omers equal one ephah,
and ten ephahs equal one homer. Think of a penny, a dime, and a dollar
– ten pennies make up a dime, and ten dimes make up a dollar. As
one hundred pennies equal one dollar, so one hundred omers equal one homer.

The harvested first sheaf underwent
a rigorous preparation before the omer elevating ceremony. The heads
of grain were separated from the stalks as part of the preparation before
they were elevated before the altar. Notice in these quotes from
the Mishnah regarding how the grain was removed from the sheaves and prepared
for the elevating ceremony:

"'They used to parch it with
fire. ... They used to beat it with reeds and the stems of plants that
the grains should not be crushed. ... [They] put it in a grist mill and
took therefrom a tenth which was sifted through thirteen sieves. ... They
put in oil and the frankincense thereof" (Menahoth 10,4).

You might see some similarities
to what the Messiah experienced, being beaten with rods, and scourged to
within an inch of His life, but without breaking any of His bones.
The oil would represent the Spirit of God, which He had without measure,
and the frankincense would reflect His prayers (Revelation 8:3).

An omer of grain was also used
in other Levitical sacrifices as a measure for a sin offering. For example,
in Leviticus 5:11: "If, however, he [an Israelite bringing a sin
offering] cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring
as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah [one omer]
of
fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on
it, because it is a sin offering."

Remember that one omer is equal
to one tenth of an ephah. I can’t help but wonder if it might somehow
be significant that the omer of grain to be elevated – representing the
Messiah who was accepted as the sin offering and Passover sacrifice to
atone for our sins – was one-tenth, or one tithe of, the measure or volume
of a man? Is there significance to His being likened to a tithe of
humankind in some sense? I can't help but wonder.

As with many other types of
offerings, the priest would take the omer of grain, elevate it over the
altar before YHVH, and bring it back down again. The picture we may
have had, where the priest would wave actual sheaves of grain back and
forth, is not supported by scripture, other than the mistranslations into
English. After all, which would be better in portraying the meaning
and significance of this ceremony – to simply cut stalks of grain from
the earth and fan them over the altar, or to suitably prepare this sacred
offering to elevate before YHVH, an offering that meant more than generations
of priests ever realized?

Many priests over many generations
participated in the harvesting and preparation of the sheaf (omer) to be
waved (elevated). Perhaps that's why so many of the priests in the
first century A.D. came to see that the new sect of Yeshua's followers,
which came to be called the sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5), was truly
the new and right way to go (Acts 6:7)!

When was it waved?Here is another area where
what we thought was plainly written in scripture is simply not there!
Nowhere in the biblical instructions, in Leviticus 23 or any other scripture,
does it say that the omer of grain is to be elevated during the Days of
Unleavened Bread (DUB)! Nowhere! The expression is not
"on the morrow after the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread,"
but merely, "on the morrow after the Sabbath."

It's astonishing to realize
that the Bible does not tie the wave offering directly to the DUB.
Notice how the instructions begin, in Leviticus 23:9-10: Following
the commands regarding the Passover and the DUB, then "The LORD said to
Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them...'" It's a new thought,
a new section. It's not part of the instruction regarding the DUB
at all!

Continuing: "Speak to the Israelites
and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you
reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf [omer] of the first grain
you harvest. He is to wave [elevate] the sheaf [omer] before the LORD so
it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave [elevate] it
on the day after the Sabbath'" (verses 10-11).

On which Sabbath is this being
done? The Hebrew word translated "Sabbath" here is the regular word
signifying the weekly Sabbath (shabbath, Strong's #7676), rather than the
more proper or formal word used to designate special, annual Sabbaths (shabbathown,
#7677). It seems pretty plain that a weekly Sabbath was to be the
day before the Wave Offering. I don’t see that the scriptures tell
us to do the omer elevating celebration on the day after the first Day
of Unleavened Bread, as some people think. It’s the weekly Sabbath.

Why do I make this point?
According to what history I could glean, the Sadducees in Yeshua's day
elevated the omer and began their count toward Pentecost beginning with
the day after the weekly Sabbath during the DUB, which is the method used
by most people we know. That’s what the Sadducees did. The
Pharisees, however, apparently began their count from the day after the
first Holy Day, a practice which is apparently still followed by most of
the Jewish community and some Christian groups.

These are two ways to begin
the "count" to Pentecost. I put the word "count" in quotation marks
because the date of Pentecost, as determined by the second method, would
not be counted at all, but would always be the same calendar date (Sivan
6 on the Hebrew calendar), since the "count" would begin on the same calendar
date each year (Abib 16). Using this method, Pentecost would not
fall on the morrow after the seventh Sabbath (that is, the first day of
the week – Leviticus 23:15-16), but could fall on any day of the week.

Let’s briefly review the verses
in Leviticus 23 that tell us how to count:

Leviticus 23:15-16:15 "'From the day after the
Sabbath [the weekly Sabbath, not the holy day], the day you brought the
sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.16 Count off fifty days up
to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering
of new grain to the LORD.

The weekly Sabbath ends a week.
Starting with the next day, which we call Sunday, we would count off seven
full weeks. That takes us to a Saturday again. That’s 49 days.
We want 50 days. So we are to count up to the day after the seventh
Sabbath, which would be a Sunday, and would also be the 50th day.
That’s how we figure Pentecost. That’s also how the ancient Sadducees
figured Pentecost, counting from the day after the weekly Sabbath.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, began their count with the day after
the First DUB.

However, an important point
we should recognize is that both groups, Pharisees and Sadducees, agreed
that the count to Pentecost should begin from a point within the DUB (although
they disagreed as to which point). Why? Was it simply to standardize
the practice, not only throughout Judea, but for Jews throughout the world?
If the count toward Pentecost begins on the day the omer is elevated, yet
the day the omer is elevated is not necessarily one of the DUB, what would
we use as a starting point for our count to Pentecost? We don’t elevate
the omer, of course; but we do need to know when to begin the count to
Pentecost!

The ceremony would have to be
scheduled at the time the spring crops in the holy land are ready for harvest.
The ceremony begins the harvest of the crop, after all. But is it
coincidence that the omer elevating ceremony takes place within the DUB?

What would happen if the date
of the omer elevating were to be set in each local area based on when their
local crops come ready for harvest? If that were the case, then,
in various places around the world, the wave offering (and consequently
Pentecost) could conceivably come at wildly varying times during the year.
The simplest answer would be to standardize the world's observance to Jerusalem's
observance.

Setting the New YearSince I originally wrote about
the Wave Sheaf Offering some years ago, we have learned much regarding
the beginning of the year in the spring. We have learned that we
ought to look at two things to set the new year – the spring equinox and
the state of the barley. We thought the name of the first month,
Abib (or Aviv), meant "green ears," so when we see green, it must be spring.
It’s like “January” – that’s the name of the first month of the year.
We call the first month “January,” you call the first month “Abib.”
But it’s not as simplistic as that.

We learned that abib is a word
that describes the state of barley about two weeks before it is ready to
be harvested. We learned that when the new year is set according
to the abib state of the barley, that would put the time of harvest about
two weeks into the new year, which would be right around Passover and DUB.
Therefore, it would be very likely that the messenger of the priest would
be able to go out during the DUB and find some barley ready to harvest,
and he would be able to get it ready for the priest to come out and cut
the ceremonial first stalk of barley. Following the omer elevating
ceremony the following morning, the harvest would begin in earnest.
Because of the way the new year was set, it would almost be guaranteed
that the wave sheaf day would fall during the DUB. So, as it turns
out, it’s a safe bet that if you schedule the wave sheaf ceremony during
the DUB, you’d be right!

It seems most prudent to continue
the practice of beginning the count toward Pentecost from the Sabbath during
the DUB, especially in the light of Yeshua’s own resurrection and elevation
taking place within that time frame.

We don’t have a priest!The omer elevating ceremony
is there, for all generations to observe. But we don’t observe it!
We have indeed neglected it, but for a good reason. We don't observe
the elevating of the omer for the same reason we don't sacrifice animals
– we have no Levitical priesthood to carry it out! It needs to be
a priest who does this ceremony. Plus, we now have a High Priest
in heaven (Hebrews 4:14, etc.), and we understand a number of ceremonial
activities in a new way, with a new application.

Consider this: Using the physical,
Old Testament way of looking at things, the day of the elevation offering
began the count toward the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. By observing
the wave offering, one could anticipate Pentecost 50 days later.
Under a spiritual, New Testament way of looking at things, if the elevation
offering represents the Messiah's resurrection, then once we have participated
in the picture of His death and resurrection (see Romans chapter 6), we
are, in effect, eagerly "counting the days" until our own resurrection
and rising in the air (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), as pictured
by the leavened loaves of bread elevated by the priest on the Day of Pentecost
(Leviticus 23:15-17)!

Here’s another surprise.
Notice in Leviticus 23:11 that, during the elevation offering, the priest
elevates the omer of grain "to be accepted for you" (KJV)
or "so it will be accepted on your behalf" (NIV), or "that
you
may find acceptance" (NRSV). This is not an offering so that the
Messiah would be accepted, but rather that we (physical Israel
then, spiritual Israel now) would be accepted. The omer of grain
represents Messiah, but it is being elevated so that we followers of YHVH
will be accepted by our Father in heaven! From that point it is,
literally, only a matter of time until we ourselves rise in the air (as
pictured by the loaves elevated at Pentecost)!

How would we observe it today?We can't escape the fact that
the elevation offering day is listed in the table of feast days, and that
Leviticus 23:14 says, "This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations
to come, wherever you live." Although the day is not listed as a
holy convocation or a sabbath, it does seem odd that we have totally neglected
this important day for so many years.

Then the question naturally
arises: If we are going to do something to observe or commemorate the wave
offering, how would we observe it? We are not priests of the sanctuary,
descended from Aaron, although we are priests in God's spiritual house
(1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 5:10). Who would perform the ceremony?
Should a ceremony be performed? Perhaps there should be a spiritual
application or observance of some kind.

If the high priest elevated
the omer, is that ceremony now performed in archetype by Messiah, our High
Priest in heaven (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14; 6:20)? Or has it been fulfilled,
with no future application?

What is different about this
day? On Saturday evening some stalks of grain were cut. The
grain was taken to an inner room to be prepared for offering. On
Sunday morning the bowl of grain was offered up to God. After that,
the harvesting of the crop began.

The difference is the part we
play in this day. Every other sacred day listed in Leviticus 23 involves
all the faithful. We are all to observe the weekly Sabbath, Passover,
the DUB, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and
the convocation of the eighth day of the Feast. These days are set
aside for us. They are convocations, times when God's people come
together for worship, rejoicing, and fellowship. We rest on the Sabbath,
we take the Passover symbols, we put leavening out of our homes, etc.

On the Saturday night when the
first stalk of grain was reaped, it wasn't the people who did it, it was
the priest. On Sunday morning, when the bowl of grain was elevated,
it wasn't the people who did it, it was the priest. There was no
convocation. There were no multitudes of sacrifices. It was,
if anything, a small, relatively quiet ceremony. Messiah's resurrection
was not observed by people. His ascension into heaven to be received on
our behalf was unobserved by humans. And so it is that the priest
cutting the grain and elevating the omer represented Messiah, and did this
service before a relatively few number of people.

Why is it we don't slaughter
a lamb to eat as our Passover observance? Because Yeshua, as the
Lamb of God, fulfilled what Passover pictured. He gave the observance
a new meaning, along with new symbols -- His body is represented by bread,
not lamb flesh. We are no longer commemorating the tenth plague on
Egypt. We are observing the Lord's death until He comes (1 Corinthians
11:26). We are no longer commemorating Israel's exodus from Egypt
in the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are reminding ourselves of our
own journey out of slavery to sin (Romans 6) and into a spiritual
wilderness.

So it is that the Wave Sheaf
offering has also changed meaning. It is no longer simply a harvest
festival to YHVH. We have a New Covenant understanding of how the
omer was elevated for our acceptance by the great God of heaven on a Sunday
morning, following a Saturday evening when the firstfruit of the harvest
was cut free of the earth.

There is no commanded assembly
or holy convocation associated with this day. However, the day the
omer is elevated begins the count to Pentecost, which is the day that symbolizes
the resurrection of the church at Messiah's return, pictured by the loaves
of leavened bread elevated and brought down.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:16 For the Lord himself will
come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17 After that, we who are still
alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Zechariah 14:4:4 On that day his feet will
stand on the Mount of Olives...

Since the elevating of the omer
was a priestly function, we ought not to take to ourselves any type of
priestly ceremony. In the days of the Temple, the high priest would
have done the ceremony. In our New Covenant status, we have a High
Priest in heaven. Therefore, we should not try to invent a religious
ceremony or ritual, since believers have been led astray by doing such
things. At best, in my opinion, we might want to do some small thing
to recognize this day, as we often do some small thing at the new moon
to note the beginning of a month. But we should avoid establishing
a religious tradition or ceremonial function as if we are priests.
Please don’t go out to your yard and cut off some tall grass or put up
an altar so you can stand before it and elevate an offering. This
is not appropriate for us to do. Please don’t let yourself be carried
away by religious fervor and run off into error.

The purpose of this article
is to inform the readers about this ceremony, its fulfillment in Messiah,
and to explore possible meanings for us today. Unfortunately, there
is no tidy ending for this article. This may leave the reader with
the same feeling that I have, that this is “unfinished business.”
Perhaps we can look at this subject again in future years.